Senate passes stopgap bill

The Senate voted 86-14 Wednesday to approve a short-term continuing resolution (CR) that keeps the government funded through Saturday.

The White House has said President Obama will sign the stopgap bill, which was passed to give Congress a few more days to pass a sweeping omnibus that will fund the government for the rest of 2014.

Obama has to sign the bill by midnight to prevent a government shutdown.

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More than 25 GOP senators voted for the CR Wednesday, including all of the Senate Republican leadership team. The vote could indicate a strong show of support for the $1.1 trillion omnibus bill, when it comes up for a vote later this week.The House passed the stopgap bill measure by voice vote on Tuesday with little debate and is poised Wednesday to approve the $1 trillion omnibus spending bill.

"As of today, the money that keeps the government operational expires," Mikulski said ahead of the Senate vote. "I ask the Senate to pass this short-term extension because it is a technical situation. This isn’t the usual delay, drama, fiscal-cliff situation."